Osborne, late first-half goal propel Wildcats

October 29, 2012

HERSHEY - The scorebook will show that it was Brittany Fleisher who had the only goal in Greenwood's 1-0 win over Lancaster Mennonite Saturday in the District 3 Class AA field hockey quarterfinals.

But if you want to know who won the game for the Wildcats - advancing them to Tuesday's semifinal round and clinching a state playoff berth - you'd have to look at the other end of the field.

Katie Osborne, Greenwood's senior goalie, not only stood tall against the Blazers, but stood on her head - almost literally - with some of her play, keeping a disciplined Lancaster Mennonite team from putting the ball in her goal.

"I wish people would give more respect to the goalies," Osborne said. "We have to wear all that stinky stuff, plus when the ball comes down you are pretty much the anchor of the team. A lot goes on you into winning the game."

The win was psychologically big for the Perry County school as well. After stumbling through the first half of their playoff opener before lighting up the board in the second, the Wildcats had to travel to a venue where they've struggled in the past - Milton Hershey School's Henry Hershey Stadium - to face a team they had never beaten in four previous postseason meetings.

And so, with a tense first half about to end, the goal that win it couldn't have been more timely.

Fact Box

*Greenwood takes on Hamburg Tuesday at Lower Dauphin Middle School

The Wildcats had been awarded only one penalty corner in the first half, and that was early on. Lancaster Mennonite had just come off its third, delivered by a Greenwood mistake with three minutes to play in the half.

The corner was defended. Greenwood got the ball and drove. Taylor Tompkins brought it into the circle from the right side of the field, and half the Wildcats were trying to keep it there, perhaps hoping to force one last corner before time expired.

Instead, Kelsey Keener delivered the ball to Fleisher out of the scrum in the circle, and she slid it past the Blazers' Kelsey Troyer.

Tick tock. Nine seconds to go.

"To get out of the first half and have the lead coming in like that, that's huge," Greenwood coach Kent Houser said. "Goals were going to be hard to come by in that game. I thought both goalies were super."

That may have been the goal, but the excitement level was high throughout the game. Lancaster Mennonite had speed, tackled well and swarmed on the ball when Greenwood tried to push it inside the 25. Greenwood had better chances in front, but wasn't always winning the possession game.

Houser challenged his team to change that in the second 30 minutes.

"We just tried to tighten things up a little bit," he said. "We were allowing too much space in the first half. We were standing behind their players too often."

After the early corner, which saw one stroke deflected and one wide, the next best chance for the Wildcats came with 11 minutes left, when Hattie Kuhns crossed the ball through the circle, but no one was there to shoot it. The same happened three minutes later, and then it was dry until the drive that delivered the goal.

Despite the score, Lancaster Mennonite stayed calm in the second half. They Blazers played their game, kept their composure and got the ball out of the circle to prevent Greenwood from getting corner calls.

But they did get a few of their own, and on an extended corner midway through the half, Osborne made a career highlight save. Down on the ground after a body block on the first effort, she used the back of her calf to deflect a lifted ball that should have been the tie.

"I don't remember anything that happened. I react to it, and that's what happens," Osborne said.

She had to do it one more time in the final minute as Lancaster Mennonite made a last-ditch effort, and again was able to keep the win in her hands.

"I'm just like, 'Oh, gosh, I don't want a shot on goal.' That's when I actually knew what was happening," Osborne said. "I dove across because if I tip it at least it might waste a couple more seconds."

Next up for Greenwood is Hamburg, a 5-0 winner over Susquehanna Township. The game is scheduled for 6 p.m. Tuesday at Lower Dauphin Middle School.